Former Charity Treasurer gets Prison for Fraud

ST. LOUIS - The former treasurer of a church-affiliated charity in St. Charles County has been sentenced to one year and one day in prison for embezzling more than $200,000 in donor money.

The sentence for 53-year-old Nancy O'Donnell of St. Peters was handed down Thursday in U.S. District Court. She pleaded guilty in October.

O'Donnell was treasurer for the St. Joseph Conference of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, which provides food, rent and other help for the needy. Donations come mostly from parishioners at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Cottleville.

Federal prosecutors say O'Donnell opened a sham checking account in 2006 and deposited cash and check donations into that account or her personal account.

O'Donnell was ordered to pay $209,000 in restitution and has already repaid all but about $20,000.